[Freado]

So, when Freado was little, meaning younger, not in size, we had a nickname for him "Nubbins". Where, when, or how, I'm not quite sure. Seems like one day, it just came out..."Hey, Nubbins!". Well, it stuck, and that was one of many of Freado's nicknames. Funny, when I looked up the word "Nubbins", not expecting to find the word in any dictionary, one of the definitions was..."a small lump or stunted piece; stub...". Who would've/could've known?! Freado was always fascinated with Pooh, yes as in the Disney character. How that came about, is another story! Anyway, I had a small stuffed Pooh Bear, just like his larger stuffed one that I would take with me on trips, when Freado couldn't go with us. Can you guess what its name was.? Well, of course, "Pooh Nubbins"! I have been traveling with that stuffed animal for years. Good, bad, or indifferent, Freado always slept in bed with us, and Pooh Nubbins would comfort me when Freado couldn't be there. Years later when Freado was having some troublesome health issues and I thought I might loose him, I had the foresight to have his paw bronzed. Not his real paw of course! However, if you press a paw into some white Play-Doh and ship it off to a company, they will make it into bronze, aluminum, or brass. Naturally, I had to have one of each! They engraved his name onto the back of each piece, and on two of them, they made a hole at the top, so it could be hung. I felt that one of these would be a perfect charm to hang off of a Thomas Mann infinity heart bracelet for Pooh Nubbins to wear as his neck jewelry. Together, paw and bear, when I had to travel without my Freado, I always felt like there was a piece of him with me. Since Saturday, July 25th, 2015, the day that my sweet Nubbins, Freado, had to leave me, a night hasn't gone by that I haven't slept with Pooh Nubbins and his neck jewelry.
~ B